Bill Gates Blames Musk-Led Foreign Aid Cuts for Preventable Child Deaths

Bill Gates is holding Elon Musk personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of children in poor countries following sweeping U.S. foreign aid cuts overseen by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The Trump administration has slashed foreign aid, eliminating over 90% of USAID’s overseas contracts and cutting $60 billion in global assistance.

“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” the Microsoft co-founder told the Financial Times, as reported by Quartz.

In February, the Trump administration slashed foreign aid, eliminating over 90% of USAID’s overseas contracts and cutting $60 billion in global assistance. Musk, appointed by President Trump to lead DOGE, posted on X: “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die.”

The cuts also led to the firing of all 1,600 U.S.-based USAID employees and the furloughing of 4,700 international staff.

Gates warned the fallout would be catastrophic: “The number of deaths will start going up for the first time… it’s going to be millions more deaths because of the resources.”

Internal USAID memos estimate 4,800 child deaths may already have occurred due to halted HIV/AIDS relief efforts, with future projections including 200,000 polio cases and 1 million untreated cases of severe child malnutrition annually.

In related news, Gates announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will close in 2045, but will double its philanthropic spending to more than $200 billion over the next 20 years.